"I say this a waste of time," The orc says, standing before a tree, relieving himself with a long sigh "What do we care about an exiled prince? We should be home, preparing for the Gnoll raids"
"Be glad we are here, looking for goblins and not at the head, facing the Witch" Another orc adds, standing a bit far looking around, it is dawn "I would like to return to my family"
The camp is busy even this early, with hammers striking iron and steel, as well as men preparing to continue expanding its size of it. The armored orcs are watching everything silently, as overseers.
"I wanna kill the damned goblin already"
"Then stop peeing and move your ass, let's look around a bit to satisfy those city bastards"
The orc furthest away turns around, resting an axe on his shoulder and chewing on something, when he sees me. But I don't let him make a sound.
With a gesture of my hand, the Huani set loose their arrows, and soon both of the orcs lay dead. Wasting no time the rumbling of the horses draws closer as I don't move my eyes away from the camp, counting the seconds until finally they notice the sound, and my men pour out from the woods as the horn of alarm is blasted.
"CHIEF!" Nojus shouts as he approaches on top of a black horse, holding the reins of another.
I jump down falling on top of it, more comfortably than I have ever been on top of these beasts thanks to my new height. I lift my spear and let out a fierce war cry. A dozen of my men on top of their horses join me in the charge. This is a strategic raid, we are far from the bulk of their numbers, but closer to any resource not stored at the center of the camp.
The Huani ready their arrows as the goblins behind them set them ablaze with torches, and soon they strike the tents and wooden barrels, the weapon stands and any unsuspecting orc unlucky enough to not possess a shield.
And soon, I see him. Orokur shoots from within his tent, the arrow flying straight to me, but I manage to split it in half with the head of my spear. He steps out, his face contorted with confusion, and later rage once we look at each other. Quickly he turns to his men.
"What are you waiting for?! ARCHERS!" He shouts with such force that I swear I can feel my very ears ring.
The orcs are in disarray, some trying hopelessly to charge at my men or hit them with their spears, but as instructed, they stay away, focusing as much as possible on burning down their tents and what exposed resources they find. I spot a few orcs reading their bows and look at Nojus, who nods knowing exactly what I'm gonna do.
Together we charge at them, Noju using the enchanted bow to keep other orcs away, and once they spot us I jump from the horse, Nojus taking its reins in hand. I know losing control right now means death, no matter my skill, I can't fight one hundred men at the same time, so I focus, and as they shoot their arrows I evade and block them.
Knowing I'm too close they throw away their bows and charge at me with axe and sword. My spear finds the head of one, then the knee of another, in one motion cutting someone's neck, the heat of the blood blessing my cold face. But as three orcs pounce, I jump back, block, dodge and pounce back in return, my spear going through one of their chests and I don't bother taking it out.
Instead, our steels clash as my sword meets their blades, the strikes are hard, and make me tremble with each successful block. But this is brief because as soon as I see an opening, their blood stains the dirt as I cut and slash deep and fast. Their armpits, stomachs, and faces.
"CHIEF, DON'T LOSE FOCUS!"
Nojus shouts and keeps me grounded, already feeling the bloodlust taking over I jump and dodge several arrows coming my way, except one that barely misses my head, jerking back my head to Orokur I know that one was his. Nojus soon charges a dozen of orcs about to strike me, giving me a chance to get on top of my horse while he keeps them away with his arrows.
"Coward! I will kill you for your betrayal! And that son of a bitch Fogosh!" Orokur screams as he charges forth, grabbing a spear from a nearby crate and throwing it at me.
I manage to catch it, but almost fall from my horse in the process, a testament to his incredible strength.
"There!" Nojus exclaims as he shoots his arrows at the chains of a hobgoblin, far enough from the orcs.
The hobgoblin looks shocked and falls to the ground as the chains in his legs are broken. Jorr, who kept himself at the back of the raid, rides as fast as possible towards him.
"Brother! To me!" He shouts and the hobgoblin seems to hesitate for a brief moment, looking at how far his captors are, and then at the other hobgoblins still chained, it is them that raise their fists in defiance, giving him the energy to stand up and run towards Jorr, who grabs him and helps him to get on top of his horse.
The target of the raid is obtained, so Nojus blows a horn and we begin the retreat.
Arrows fly and miss me, but strike my horse first on the back, and later on the head, he falls and I jump towards Nojus, who manages to catch me, giving me the chance to deflect a couple of arrows meant to strike his horse before he throws me on top, I throw the spear at a nearby orc.
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I catch a glimpse of a pair of Huani who fall from their horses, one struck dead by the arrows, and the other falling due to his horse being killed. Quickly glancing around I see most of the Huani are kept safe by the shielded goblins riding with them, who have managed to keep most arrows from killing them or the horses.
"He is still alive!" Nojus shouts meaning to turn around and try to rescue the Huani preparing to battle.
"Are you insane?! They will kill us! We need to escape!" Jorr shouts at him as he rides closer to us.
Nojus glances back at me, I see the desperation in his eyes. But I say nothing, expressing with a glance the truth in Jorr's words. He looks away, but I see him grit his teeth as he makes the horse run faster. Finally taking us back to the forests as I glance back.
Seeing how the surviving Huani raises to the ground defiantly, taking out his dagger and charging forward, only to be stricken to death by several arrows. And the two goblins rising their shields and got their daggers out as well, only to throw it all away and try to run away, soon dying in the same way.
We ride fast, leaving behind live fires and shouting men.
"I WILL KILL YOU, USHKUR!!" I hear Orokur scream at the top of his lungs. Until all I can hear is my heavy breathing and the galloping of the horses on the snow.
"Well, that could have gone worse," Jorr says.
I look at the hobgoblin riding with him, the hate and confusion in his eyes as he looks around at my men, especially once he lays eyes on me. The same anger and desire for blood upon my kind that all hobgoblins have always had the first time they see me.
We reach the raging river, too stubborn to let itself freeze, with a pair of makeshift boats waiting for our return. A large group of my men await us and cheer once they see us. I told them to be ready in case the orcs had a way to follow us. Lina awaits us too, properly geared up as well.
Now some of my men, the best warriors together with Lina, wear a leather cuirass with steel or iron plates beneath. Cheaper and more resourceful than making a cuirass completely out of steel. And quicker than chainmail. Lina's is decorated with carefully placed fur around her shoulders and neck, giving it a more animalistic look, and perhaps seeking to mimic my own.
My men secure a wooden platform meant to allow our horses to cross waters since there is that small cliff separating us. And I made it so the platform can be broken apart and put back together when needed.
"Do you think they will know where we come from?" Jorr asks as we wait for our turn to cross, each boat letting only one horse on it at any given time. We stand on the ground, letting our tired beasts rest.
"I don't. We have scattered enough marks on the ground before the raid to at least confuse them, and the chaos in their camp will force them to stay there" A lie. Orokur knows I'm alive, so he must deduce that I'm either at the tower or back in the camp. But my men don't need to know this.
"I know, that was the plan...but plans tend to have an unexpected twist now and then, no matter how good it is" He replies looking at the hobgoblin desperately drinking water he scoops from the raging waters.
"We could have given him clean water"
"If you have been a slave, there is no better water than that you take with your own hands," Nojus says knowledgeably.
In time we all make it to the other side, Lina insisted she joined the raid since she too could ride, but her lacking skills with the bow were the reason I prevented her from doing so. Once on the other side, the horses had their wounds quickly tended by my men and we made our way back. Jorr speaking with the hobgoblin, explaining things.
Back in the camp I was satisfied to see the first home built, small, yet sufficient to house a few men inside, just logs put together in a circular shape. Morgana steps out from within, grinning as she approaches me.
"Get that man better clothes and a place where to rest" I command my men as we each walk away to do our duties, Lina sticking close to me, forever distrustful of the witch "Morgana"
"Between a dungeon cell and that shack, I would rather sleep in the cell," She says with a quick yawn.
"Is not for you" I reply as I walk up to the small building "It keeps the cold away, and is neither damp nor too small. Perfect for a few people to sleep inside"
"And just in time, things in the kingdom seem to get more and more...rowdy. Almost makes me miss it" Morgana says looking around for a bit "And to be honest, this place seems pretty safe, the Mistress will be content"
"Tell her in two weeks I will have a couple more like this, to house twenty or more of her people," I say walking away from her and the building, noticing the pair of hobgoblins she demanded were given to her, as her servants.
As I make my way back to my tent I see the way my men look at her, so much disgust and distrust. At least there has been no accident, yet. This is not shared by my brethren, who would hump on her legs if she allowed them.
The hobgoblin we rescue was our objective not out of charity. I need information regarding the army of the orcs, any at all would be welcomed. And after being spoken to by Jorr he agreed to share what he knew with me inside my tent.
He belonged to the tribes far away from the human lands, closer to the Great Plains, and as such, they were among the first to be subjugated by the orcish army. It was larger than any that had ever crossed through the Valley of Uj to attack the humans. And being so close to the plains he gave us rumors that could indicate the why of such a force.
Orcs usually live in semi-nomadic ways. Forming large tribes that split when they become too big, seeking new lands and settling there, uniting only in times of need or external menaces. Busy enough fighting monsters that spill from the Nest of Dragons and the Gnolls constantly trying to take over their fertile pastures.
But decades ago a couple of the largest tribes were conquered by a man who merged them and forced many orcs to migrate inside instead of outside, leading to the creation or some say rebuilding of cities.
Regarding why were they invading, he heard many things among the orcs, and that wasn't a good sign. No one seemed sure about why where they going to war, some speaking of too many mouths to feed, others about revenge for their dead princess, and others speaking of the usual desire to expand.
But in the end, no one seemed to be certain. Regarding the camp he was in specifically, he confirmed that it was a small section of the army sent to kill me. Something many orcs were enraged about, calling me a pest, and making fun of such an order...but after the raid I made, it was sure to make them take me more seriously.
Finally, he let me know there were at least three hundred other goblins scattered among camps since they kept them all together until they entered the Farwoods, where they were divided to serve different sections of the army.
This was all he could tell me, so I dismissed him and was left alone with my thoughts. We needed numbers, for I knew Orokur's revenge would soon come...perhaps it is time I return to the human lands.